A fine small early Victorian engraved gilt brass small calendar carriage timepiece with twin thermometers and compass Signed for Storr and Mortimer, London, circa 1835-38 The four columnar pillar eight-day single chain fusee movement with Harrison's maintaining power and underslung English lever platform escapement regulated by three-arm monometallic balance incorporating cabochon endstone, the backplate with winding and setting squares labelled For the hands and To set day of month respectively and signed Storr & Mortimer, London to centre, the 1.625 inch circular silvered Roman numeral dial with fine foliate scroll engraved centre and blued steel moon hands set within a rectangular rococo scroll engraved gilt mask incorporating subsidiary silvered day-of-the week and date-of-the-month dials to lower margin behind a bevelled glass panel, the case with hinged foliate scroll and baton cast carrying handle over shallow raised rococo scroll engraved shaped top panel centred with a silvered compass engraved with the cardinal points and divided into sixteenths set beneath a bevelled glass, the angles with lobed button finials over plain frieze with twin crossover projections at each corner, the front with foliate scroll engraved surround to the glazed aperture flanked by projecting fluted columns, the sides with mercury tube thermometers with silvered scales annotated for FAHRENHEIT to the left and REAUMUR to the right set behind bevelled glasses within scroll engraved surrounds flanked by additional pairs of fluted columns, the rear with hinged rectangular door, on plain skirt base matching the frieze and generous stepped block feet 11.5cm (4.5ins) high excluding handle. The firm of Storr and Mortimer can trace its roots back to the celebrated silversmith Paul Storr who was joined in partnership by John Mortimer in 1822. The business traded from 13 New Bond Street and specialised in the retail of silverwares, jewellery, watches and clocks. In 1839 Storr and Mortimer relocated 156 New Bond Street with Paul Storr retiring very shortly afterwards. The firm continued under the management of John Mortimer and Samuel John Hunt (who joined the business in 1826) trading under the name Mortimer and Hunt; which was then in-turn subsequently succeeded by the partnership of Hunt and Roskell (with Robert Roskell probably joining the business around the time of John Mortimer's retirement in 1843). Hunt and Roskell exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition with their wares including a selection of small engraved gilt timepieces by Thomas Cole whose work they were known to have retailed. Hunt and Roskell continued as one of the leading retail jewellers and silversmiths throughout the Victorian era becoming a Limited Company in 1898. They relocated to 25 Old Bond Street in 1912 from where they traded until being bought-out by J.W. Benson in 1965. The strong architectural form of the current lot coupled with the lavish use of fine engraved decoration is typical of the best quality clocks made during the High Victorian period. Although small clock executed in this style were made particularly popular by Thomas Cole many of the other leading horological workshops such as Dent, Frodsham and McCabe produced small highly decorative timepieces from around 1830. The present timepiece benefits from having a well specified high quality movement incorporating a chain fusee with Harrison's maintaining power which would suggest that it was made in one of the leading workshops on behalf of Storr and Mortimer. Similar examples are illustrated in Roberts, Derek CARRIAGE and Other Travelling CLOCKS with the first on page 278 (Fig. 18-15) being of closely related case design but lacking the compass and thermometers; and the second being of broadly similar but plainer design but also signed for Storr and Mortimer is illustrated on page 346 (Fig. 24-1).